BlackChampagne.com -- No longer new; improvement also in question.

BlackChampagne Home Buy Crap! I get 5%. Direct donations to cover hosting expenses are also accepted. Site Information --What is Black Champagne? --Cast of Characters & Things --Your First Time. --Design Notes --Quote of the Day Archive --Phrase of the Moment Archive --Site Feedback --Contact/Copyright Info Blog Archives --Blogger Archives: June 2005- --Old Monthly Archives: Jan 2002-May 2005 Reviews Section Movie Reviews (153) Ten Most Recent Film Reviews: --Infernal Affairs -- 5.5 --The Protector/Tom Yum Goong -- 6 --The Limey -- 8 --The Descent -- 6 --Oldboy -- 9.5 --Shaolin Deadly Kicks -- 7 --Mission Impossible III -- 7.5 --V for Vendetta -- 8.5 --Ghost in the Shell 2 -- 8 --Night Watch -- 7.5 Book Reviews (76) Five Most Recent Book Reviews: --Cat People -- 4 --Attack Poodles -- 5 --Caught Stealing -- 6 --The Dirt, by Motley Crue -- 7.5 --Harry Potter #6 -- 7 Photos Section --Flux Photos --Pet Photos (7 pages) --Home Decor Photos --Plant Photos --Vacation Photos (12 pages) Articles See all 234 articles here. Fiction Original horror and fantasy short stories. Mail Bags Index Page Features --Links --Slang: Internet --Slang: Dirty --Slang: Wankisms --Slang: Sex Acts --Slang: Fulldeckisms --Hot or Not? --Truths in Advertising Band Name Ratings (350 Rock Bands Listed) FAQ -- Feedback A -- B -- C -- D -- E -- F -- G -- H -- I -- J -- K -- L -- M -- N -- O -- P -- Q -- R -- S -- T -- U -- V -- W -- X -- Y -- Z Hellgate: London --The Unofficial HGL Site --The Hellgate Wiki Diablo II --The Unofficial Site --Flux's Decahedron --Middle Earth Mod
	BlackChampagne -- no longer new; improvement also in question.: Harry Potter Madness vs. HGL Alpha Monday, July 23, 2007 Harry Potter Madness vs. HGL Alpha So Harry Potter #7 dropped over the weekend and there was much pandemonium. I have not purchased it or read it (had no interest in reading from digicam photos leaked online), though I will at some point. Too busy with other things, though I probably would have gotten the book by now if the Hellgate alpha test hadn't expanded to include lots of new people, including myself, late last week. I spent several hours playing last night, getting much further into the game than I ever had before, and while the NDA precludes me from giving any details or saying much more than that I am in the alpha, I will add that this preview has me more eager than ever for the full game, and that it's so much more fun playing when I can take my time, experiment with different spells and equipment, read the NPC dialogues, and just generally enjoy the ambiance. Playing HGL previously at game shows or during quick visits to Flagship Studios, I was always rushing through to see as much as I could, and doing everything with half my mind on how I'd write up what I was seeing. Since I can't write about the alpha, I'm just having fun playing and enjoying the experience, while still keeping an eye out for bugs and thinking about how best to present the info, in a month or two when the NDA ends and I'm able to get back to updating my HGL site. But to get back to Harry Potter, there's a ton of coverage online about the book and the book's record-breaking first day sales. I saw a link to one article in the NYTimes book section, and as I clicked to the next article, it was more Harry Potter. And the one after that was too. And the one after that. All about the launch, the media coverage, the publishing sensation, the fans' eagerness, the way the movies have evolved along with the books, and so on. It's kind of insane; when else do you see a photo of someone holding up a book, on the front page of the newspaper? They even have a review that went up before midnight embargo was lifted. The whole thing makes me happy; that people will still line up for a book, rather than just some new electronic trinket from Apple or Sony, and that people care so passionately about fictional characters. I enjoy the books but they're not my favorite fiction, and I didn't start reading the Harry Potter series until after book three was released, so the whole thing has been compressed into a minor portion of my adult life. I can imagine what it's like for younger readers though, who started the series when they were 5 or 8 or 10, and have followed along through the books and the movies, and grown up along with the characters. I remember how many times I reread favorite books when I was in my tweens/teens, and can only imagine if I'd had new ones in a series I really enjoyed, released every other year for my whole childhood. I would probably have grown jaded and said they were just for kids (as I did when I stopped reading lots of books I liked at 10 and 12 once I discovered horror fiction when I was about 14) at some point around 9th grade, but in the unlikely instance that I didn't... it would have been pretty cool. Labels: harry potter, Hellgate: London Posted by: Flux # 2:56 PM Comments: Well, I grew up with the Harry Potter series I guess, with the first one being published sometime when I was in elementary school, but by the time this one came out I've become very indifferent to it all. I think all the hype for it has made me less enthused than most of my potter-crazed friends. I actually read a few chapters of the new one and stopped reading in favor of restarting another book that I had recently stopped reading. Theres also a problem with the fact that since I read the books so long ago, I really only remember what I saw in the movies, which I was always disappointed by because of how they tend to compress/cut everything. I can only hope that he dies when I get around to reading it. And I can't wait until I (hopefully) get invited to the HG:L beta. #: 8:24 PM posted by Anonymous Post a Comment << Home Archives May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 March 2007 April 2007 May 2007 June 2007 July 2007 August 2007 September 2007 October 2007 November 2007 December 2007 January 2008 February 2008 March 2008 April 2008 May 2008 June 2008 July 2008 August 2008 September 2008 October 2008 November 2008 December 2008 January 2009 February 2009 March 2009 April 2009 May 2009 June 2009 July 2009 August 2009 September 2009 October 2009 November 2012

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